Blasting out of geek ghetto

There has been an explosion in gaming this year with over 1,000 new titles and the rise of 3-D. We offer our pick of 2010

Call of Duty: Black ops (Activision)
Once the sole domain of teenage boys, computer games have well and truly
escaped the geek ghetto, and this Christmas they will feature heavily on
many people’s wish lists. Just consider the figures.

According to the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, which
represents the gaming industry in the UK, in 2009 shoppers spent £1.79
billion on consoles, games and accessories — which is more than was spent on
either music or cinema tickets. The association believes one in three people
now play video games, if smartphone games are included.

But with more than a thousand titles released this year, picking the right
present for a nephew, spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend (or even yourself) is
a challenge — not to mention a potentially expensive mistake if you get it
wrong, with most console titles costing in the region of £40. We’re here to
help. As regular readers of these pages will know, it’s